Looking for Occupational Therapist Schools near Hereford, TX? Let us help you find the perfect OTA program for you!

When youbegin your search for Occupational therapy Assistant schools in Hereford, TX, you are going toquicklysee that there has never been a better time toundertake a career as an OTA. The United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statisticspredicts jobs in this particularfield to increase by 43% over the ten year period 2010-2020, this equates to over 12,000 new Occupational Therapy Assistant jobs! The better news is that the averageOccupational Therapy Assistant incomeis greater than $53,000 per yearwhich makes itamongst the highest paying medicalprofessions that does not require a Four Year Degree.

Occupational Therapy Schools in Hereford, TX

The first steptowards a career as an OTA is choosing the rightOccupational Therapy Program. There are presentlyalmosttwo hundred accredited occupational therapy schools in the US and Puerto Rico and most of the schools accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) offer Occupational Therapist Assistant degrees and Master’s Degrees, with many also offering Doctoral degrees. Before youdive in andchoose a training program, be sure that youevaluate all of your alternativesto makecertainyou locate an Occupational Therapy school that meets all your requirements.

Things YouShould ConsiderWhen Deciding On an Occupational Therapy School

Accreditation

Accreditation by the ACOTE is essential because you can bereassuredthat you willlearn about the full variety ofskillsnecessary to bea qualified OTA.

Curriculum

Occupational Therapy Assistants assist patients on a wide variety ofhealth concerns and disorders making itimportant that your schooling is very wide-rangingand not too dedicated toone particulardiscipline.

Clinical Training

Another significantfeatureyou must consider is the clinical learning experience. This is yourpractical training, and thisis whereyou actually interact with actual patients and put your skills to use. Some schools dedicateconsiderably more time on your actual practicalexperience in comparison toother training programs. In situations where your training program is not devotinga considerable amount of time with clinical training, be sure that youfind out why.

Class Size

Something else to look into is the class sizes. The size of the classesmay vary greatly from school to school. Make sure you find out the class sizes at all the schools you are looking at. Bear in mind, the smaller the class size , the more one-on-one timeyou will get with yourtrainers.

Online Classes

Taking Occupational Therapy Classes Online might not work for every student. Yet, for some people online courses can alleviatesome of the burdens of being a full time student. Work and familyare frequentlypushed aside while students continue their training and online classes can offera little flexibility to a busy schedule.

Graduation Rate

The finalissueyou might want tolook intobefore selecting an Occupational Therapy School is the success rate of the training programsyou are looking at. Make certain you find out how many peoplegraduate from the program, what their comments were, and exactly how many of them have gone on tobecome Occupational Therapists.

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Programs:

Northcentral University was founded in 1996 to provide working professionals around the world with unprecedented access to richly engaging, professionally relevant, and academically-rigorous education from a U.S. university.

As a regionally accredited, private, online and graduate-focused university, NCU offers doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business, technology management, education, and psychology, as well as doctoral and master’s degrees in marriage and family therapy.

Programs:

Health Psychology - PhD of Psychology

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Master of Science in Health Psychology

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What to Expect in OTA School

In most cases the course work is roughly24 months, with the first year being predominantlyclass-roomteaching and with the second year spent doing hands on lessons in a hospital facility or private careoffice. Some of the course work a student will likely need to take involves pediatrics, gerontology, clinicaljargon, and physical rehabilitation. All States that require licensure just call fora 2 year degree. A Bachelor’s Degree isrequiredif you plan on becoming a full Occupational Therapist, but the truth is you will find that the majority of Occupational Therapist began their careers as Assistants and earned their Bachelor’s Degrees a few years later.

Licensing Information and Facts

Following graduation, those ready toget started with their careers must become licensed as an occupational therapist assistant. Every State has its own guidelines and specificationswhich are governed by an occupational therapy board, with a few being private and some run by the State exclusively. In Texas, licensing is administrated by the Texas Executive Council of PT & OT Examiners. Whileeach State is unique, there are a number of requirements that happen to be common among many of them and include the following.

An individualapplying for an occupational therapy assistant licensehas to be a U.S. citizen, will need to have a social security number and needs to have taken and passedacceptable college course work in addition to having taken and passed the NBCOT exam.

Every State requires a federal background check , but convictions are not alwaysautomatic grounds for dismissal. A handful of States may consider approving an occupational therapy license if a written affidavit is filed to describe the circumstances of the conviction. Additional factors including time period and nature of the criminal offense may be evaluated and be considered to grant licensure .

Each State will have an Occupational Therapy Assistant licensure kitthat willinclude many forms to submit. Do notpay for these forms from a third party because they can be accessed online from many trustedsites. It is important to take a very thorough look through the forms before attempting to complete them. It will have official transcripts needed; notarized signatures and many States will require you to submit a fingerprint card which can be completed at a local police station.

Work Environment for Occupational Therapy Assistants

An OTA will work with a number of different patients which have needs which may bedifferentthan from the previous patient. You might beemployed in an outpatient facility with small childrenwho have food or texture aversions or a hospital treatment facility working with a middle age man with psychological and mental struggles . Although an occupational therapy assistant hasa variety of job skills, a couple of the basics including following direction, keeping up to date with the latest techniques and learning and using the available technologiesare the most important. Finally, a COTA also needs to be relatively physically fit, asyou will have plenty of instances of moving patients around, for example from a bed to a wheel chair.

If this looks like the career for you, then take a few minutes and visit the search form at the top of this page. You will be shown a list of training programs near Hereford, TX that offer Occupational Therapy Assistant training. Request information from as many schools as you’d like, and good luck in your future career!

Occupational Therapy Schools in Hereford, TX reviewed by Leah BOYD on June 5.

Terrific Source of Info

Thank You for sharing such an informative website. I was able to find great info about the various schools in my area and chose one that worked for me. I’m now ready to start my classes and can’t wait to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant.